WILBERFORCE — In a rematch of last year’s Southern Intercollegiate Athletic Conference championship, the Central State women’s college basketball team beat the Benedict Tigers, 80-70, Jan. 1.

“Our ladies did a good job of coming out and playing hard tonight,” said CSU coach LaTonya McDole. “We did a good job of adjusting throughout the game and played with intensity on defense. We take pride on the defensive end and our ladies did a great job of being active and creating deflections.”

With the victory, CSU improves to 11-3 overall with a SIAC leading 6-1 record. Benedict falls to 3-14 overall with a 3-4 mark in conference play.

Freshman Brooke Spaulding scored seven of CSU’s first 10 points and the Marauders took a 19-10 lead after the first 10 minutes of play. The teams traded baskets throughout the second quarter as the Marauders remained ahead by nine, 44-35, at halftime.

By the 6:13 mark of the third quarter, the Tigers sliced the CSU lead down to four, but a 3-pointer from Sierra Harley sparked a 7-2 Marauder run and CSU maintained a nine-point advantage heading into the final period.

Chavon Banks opened the fourth quarter with a make from beyond the arc to give CSU a double-digit lead. From that point on, the Marauders maintained a healthy distance from the Tigers en route to the New Year’s Day victory.

CSU forced BC into 32 giveaways and held a 33-5 edge in points scored off turnovers.

Spaulding led all scorers with a season-high 22 points. Harley came off the bench to contribute 14 points and four assists. Jaeda Davis chipped in with 13 points while Banks scored 12 points. Falon Edwards led CSU with 10 rebounds to go along with eight points and four assists.

Ayanna Armstead led Benedict with 18 points.

CSU continues conference play on the road at 5:30 p.m. Thursday, Jan. 4 against Paine College, in Augusta, Ga.